Organisers of the European Super League are reportedly hoping to hold talks with Premier League clubs, in spite of several teams already denouncing the new plans for the competition.
Each member of the Premier League's Big Six - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur - announced that they had accepted invitations to the original plans in April 2021.
The English sextet would have joined Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan in a closed 12-team league, but the project fell apart within a few days due to enormous backlash.
Players announced their disapproval as fans protested outside Premier League grounds, while governments also condemned the idea, seeing all six English teams pull out alongside Inter, Milan and Atletico.
FIFA and UEFA had threatened to expel teams from competitions if they planned to join a breakaway league, while Juventus were told that they risked being kicked out of Serie A, leading to their withdrawal this summer.
© Reuters
The two governing bodies were taken to the European Court of Justice over their threats to ban players, and on Thursday morning, they were ruled to have been abusing their "dominant position".
With the ECJ concluding that FIFA and UEFA were unlawful in their attempts to stop a European Super League from forming, Barcelona, Real Madrid and principal backers A22 Sports have been offered a slice of hope that the competition could be reborn.
Hours after news of the court's ruling broke, A22 announced their vision for an expanded Super League, which would comprise 64 men's teams and 32 women's teams in three separate divisions.
The plans were supported by Barca and Real, but each member of the Premier League's Big Six has voiced their disapproval over the past 48 hours and insisted that they remained loyal to UEFA competitions.
The UK's new independent regulator would also work to prevent teams from joining a breakaway league, but the i claims that A22 still believe that Premier League clubs could be convinced to give the European Super League a second chance.
© Reuters
"On 21 December 2023, we presented a new proposal for European club competitions for both men and women," a spokesperson for A22 told the publication.
"In the coming weeks, we will discuss the proposal with all interested clubs across Europe, including from the UK. The competition format we proposed is not a breakaway league in any shape or form – and is fully meritocratic.
"Our proposal is for a new mid-week European club competition with promotion and relegation at its core, running in parallel to the national leagues – the English Premier League will remain and continue to be run by its clubs."
As well as a multitude of Premier League clubs, both the Premier League and UEFA have also affirmed that they are against the revamped project, which was not endorsed in any way by the ECJ.
Ben Knapton
